Local Scouts among nation's first to earn new merit badge

By Sandy Meindersma CORRESPONDENT

Saturday

Apr 14, 2012 at 12:01 AMApr 16, 2012 at 9:06 AM

The Boy Scouts of America is known for training leadership, and nine Scouts from the Mohegan Council and two from the Nashua Valley Council recently became leaders within Scouting, as they were among the nation's first Scouts to earn the new Welding Merit Badge.

Venture Crew member Christina Fallavollita also earned the merit badge, one of the first girls nationwide to earn the badge.

“We are very proud of the Scouts who are among the first in the country to earn the welding badge,” Mohegan Council District Director Matthew Conlon said. “We look forward to seeing more Scouts from the council achieve their Welding Merit Badge in the future.”

The badge is one of four new badges being added this year to a program that contains more than 130 different options.

Janice Downing, senior innovation manager at Scouts headquarters in Irving, Texas, said that a new merit badge must be approved by 75 percent of the Scouts who are surveyed and two adult committees before it can be launched.

“We've been pleasantly surprised by all the interest the welding badge has generated,” Ms. Downing said. “We had several troops that wanted to do it at 12:01 a.m. on the day it was released.”

The American Welding Society co-sponsored the badge with the Boy Scouts after it identified a need of more than 100,000 welders in America.

Merit badges are required for advancement in the Boy Scout ranks, with 21 needed to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. Many Scouts discover a career or lifelong hobby through the badge program.

Larry Salate, assistant scoutmaster for Troop 151 in West Boylston, learned about the new merit badge when he was reading a trade journal for the American Welding Society announcing the new badge.

Mr. Salate then contacted Neil Mansfield, metal fabrication teacher at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School in Marlboro, who agreed to conduct a workshop for the Scouts during February vacation.

“Scouting really inspired me to better myself,” said Mr. Mansfield, a former Scout himself. “I like being able to give back.”

With the help of 10 student volunteers, the boys learned about MIG, TIG and gas welding, and got to try their hands at each of them.

“My student volunteers were terrific — all the credit goes to them,” Mr. Mansfield said. “It was teens teaching other teens about metalworking and welding.”

“It was a lot of fun,” Boy Scout Patrick McKeon said. “MIG welding is a type of welding with a welding gun and wire, and you move the wire in close proximity to the gun, and it starts an electrical arc that heats the wire, which allows you to weld.”